Mum Completed Pack Of Challenges For Daughter’s Cancer Carers

A Birmingham mum with a heart full of gratitude raised over £6,000 for us after taking on multiple adrenaline-filled running challenges, inspired by her four-year-old daughter’s cancer care.

Leanne Purcell, from Billesley, completed six 10k Wolf-Runs, complete with obstacles, as well as a hardcore circuit based DEKA challenge, to say thank you for the care her daughter, Connie, receives at our hospital.

Connie was just two-years-old when Leanne first noticed signs that she was unwell. To start with, Connie occasionally appeared to look a little jaundiced, but one day she appeared to lose all strength, her lips went blue and she began to slur her words.

Leanne and Connie’s dad, Sean, rushed her to their nearest Emergency Department fearing she had suffered a stroke but MRI and CT scans came back clear, ruling it out. Stumped, doctors ordered blood tests which revealed an indicator of Connie’s devastating diagnosis – Leukaemia.

Right away Connie was given a blood transfusion and the next day she was transferred to our hospital where a bone marrow sample test confirmed Connie had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, a rare type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow.

Our brilliant oncology team began preparing Connie for her first round of chemotherapy and Leanne, who was 38 weeks pregnant at the time, and Sean, tried to get their head around what they’d just been told. The day before Connie was due to go into surgery to have her treatment lines fitted, Leanne went into labour and rushed across the city to our sister hospital, Birmingham Women’s Hospital, where Connie’s little sister, Niamh, was born. The next day the family were reunited and Connie met her new baby sister.

Since Connie’s journey began in October 2023, she has, thankfully, responded incredibly well to her treatment. As of September 2025, she was still undergoing chemotherapy, had had regular steroid treatments, took part in the trial of a new antibody drug and was set to finish her treatment in December 2025.

After recovering from Niamh’s birth, Leanne got back into running and training with friends at bootcamp club, HCF Solihull, and decided to take on her first Wolf-Run challenge and got sponsored to raise funds for us, as thanks for Connie’s care. After that, Leanne was on a roll and signed up to five more, plus the DEKA challenge, to further support our Oncology ward, where Connie receives her treatment.

Leanne said: “Connie’s diagnosis came as such a shock and from that point everything moved so quickly that it really didn’t sink in until a few days later. I started training again to give myself some headspace and something to focus on, and when the opportunity to take part in the Wolf-Run came up, I knew I wanted to do it for the hospital.

“The oncology team have been real stars through Connie’s treatment so raising money is my way of saying thank you and hopefully supporting other patients and families going through the same thing.”

Annie Eytle, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Connie’s diagnosis is any parent’s worst nightmare and teamed with the sudden arrival of a new member of the family must have made for an incredibly stressful time for Leanne. However we’re incredibly grateful that Leanne’s running became an outlet for her, which in turn led to her raising a phenomenal amount for our charity.

“Leanne’s ever-increasing fundraising will go towards helping us to continue supporting patients and families on our oncology ward, as well as in the wider hospital.”